love is gonna win the fight (fear is gonna run and hide)
by mellbell12123
Summary: Elide and Lorcan, together they stopped just surviving and started to truly live again
1. Nightmares

**Author's notes:** Don't mind me I just needed some Elide and Lorcan fluff in my life...they have control of my soul and I love them. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

 _Elide peeked around the corner with a grin. The hallway was dark, the light from the lanterns dancing across the stone walls. No sign of him. She rounded the corner, careful to keep her footsteps as quiet as possible as she looked for any sign of movement._

 _The sound of deep laughter echoed through the hall and Elide quickly slipped into an alcove. She waited and waited and held her breath until she saw a shadow pass by. When the footsteps faded, she peeked out and quickly took off in the opposite direction. But as she rounded the corner, arms reached out and grabbed her spinning her around. Laughter tore from her throat as Lorcan nipped at her neck, his heart singing at the sound of her laughter._

 _As Lorcan placed her on the ground Elide turned to face him, winding her arms around his neck. She lifted up onto her toes as he leaned down. His lips brushed against hers and she smiled against his mouth, feeling his returning grin as she pulled him closer._

 _However, their happiness was short-lived when Lorcan suddenly stiffened. Elide swung around, not believing her eyes._

 _Vernon._

 _They were supposed to be safe. How was he here?_

 _Elide moved to place herself in front of Lorcan, but he was gone. She spun around until she caught sight of him on his knees next to Vernon._

 _No._

 _Vernon's grin cut through her like a sword. Her breath feeling as if it had been knocked out of her. Her eyes shot to Lorcan but before she could even speak, his eyes turned soulless black and he collapsed to the ground. A scream tore from Elide's throat._

 _But before she could make a move, a figure stepped out from behind Vernon. A man with golden hair._

 _His body was surrounded by a rippling darkness. The seemingly black smoke looked like a living breathing creature covering his skin. The man's face broke into a jagged smile as creatures began to form out of the mist. Horrible creatures. Monsters. Their bodies jerked as they formed from the darkness._

 _Elide's heart was pounding and as if they could hear it, the monsters turned toward her. As they approached, she tried to run, she tried to scream, but hands pushed her to her knees. She slammed into the ground, her teeth gritting against the strong hands. The darkness neared._

 _The golden man before her stood, not even a foot away._

 _She could feel the blackness begin to seep into her skin, her eyes, her mouth, and she felt herself burning. Burning. Burning._

 _And the last thing she saw was Lorcan's body motionless on the ground before she turned to ash._

Elide shot up, her heart racing, her body sticky with sweat. She felt a hand sweep across her back and she all but threw herself out of the bed. She stumbled over to the window, her ankle screaming under her weight, as she threw the window open. The cold air struck her face and she welcomed the icy blast with a sigh. Her heart settled down and she heard gentle steps behind her, knowing that Lorcan was making noise so that she knew he was approaching.

"I'm okay."

" _Elide_."

"Really. I'm fine. I just-" she took a deep breath wrapping her arms around her body, the cold air already seeping deep into her bones.

"Another nightmare."

She knew she didn't need to give him a response but nodded her head anyway. With a shaky sigh, she turned to face her mate. Lorcan stood there almost unsure of himself. They had been together for a year, but they were still learning how to be normal together.

It had taken time for her to forgive him, but after they rescued Aelin and defeated Maeve and Erawan, Aelin had given her a good whack on the head for still blaming Lorcan. And not a few minutes after that Elide found herself in Lorcan's arms, the man himself breathing so shakily that she knew he had been on the verge of a breakdown. And not a few days later they discovered that they were mates. Their eyes met and something just snapped. And in that moment, they knew everything would be alright.

It took time. Lorcan didn't know what love truly was. He didn't know what happiness felt like. He had gone centuries without anybody truly loving him. Other than the love he felt from his cadre. But this was different. And he was worried he would screw it up.

And Elide. Elide was slow to trust. She had learned the hard way that the people closest to you were the ones that could hurt you the most. She didn't know how to let anyone in. She didn't know if she could let Lorcan in.

They were both complete messes.

But together they stopped _just surviving_ and started to truly _live_ again.

Vernon's smile flashed through her head again and she knew Lorcan could see the pain that flit across her face, her normally sparkling eyes dull. He opened his arms and Elide gladly stepped into them, her tiny body fitting against his massive figure, pulling her in completely until she felt undeniably safe. She gripped tight to his shirt, her dream still flittering across her memory, as his hands rubbed soothingly up and down her back.

After a few minutes of silence, Elide yawned into his chest.

"Bed?"

But Elide just vehemently shook her head. Lorcan suppressed a sigh before gently picking her up and carrying her into the living room off of their bedroom.

"Come on."

He sat on one of the chairs pulling her into his lap. He reached over and grabbed a book off the shelf handing it to her.

Elide began reading slowly and Lorcan couldn't stop himself from brushing a kiss against her temple. She paused for a second, and looked up at him, giving him a smile that almost stopped his heart. His eyes flitted to her mouth and he watched as it curled up slightly. He leaned in and waited until she met him halfway. Their lips brushed together once. Twice. And then she pulled away, her eyes once again shining with that sparkle that he loved so much. She turned back to the book and began reading again. Lorcan just stared in awe at the woman in his arms, wondering what gods had been working in his favor to give him a woman such as this to love. He began running a hand through her hair and with a sigh, she leaned her head onto his chest as she continued to read.

About a month after the war ended, Lorcan had entered her room to find her surrounded by ten piles of books, trying to teach herself how to read. She began to rant how as the Lady of Pennanth she had to know how to read. So Lorcan sat down next to her and gently took the pile of books from her hands. And from that day on, he taught her how to read. And write. And soon she was reading and reading and reading.

And in the days that followed, he would often wake up early in the morning finding her side of their bed empty. The first time he found her missing, he had flown into a panic and had sent outbursts of magic to the cadre. But he had found her not a second later. There was Elide. Curled in the chair. Smiling as she read her new favorite book.

Elide's voice began to grow hoarse and her words began to slur as she grew tired. Lorcan gently plucked the book out of her hands and started up where she had left off. His hand continued running through her hair as she tucked herself deeper into his side, listening to his deep voice as she drifted off to sleep, safe in his arms.


	2. The Necklace

**Author's notes:** So, I decided this is gonna be oneshots of just different moments with Elide and Lorcan. A few of the chapters will probably relate to each other but I'll letcha know if they do! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

 _Elide ran through the waves, her tiny legs splashing up the water around her. She let out a shriek of laughter as her father chased behind her. With a smile, he raced forward sweeping her up into his arms and throwing her up into the air, her laughter echoing across the beach. He pulled her into his chest, pressing dozens of kisses to her cheeks as he swung her around, his own laughter in perfect harmony with her own._

 _"Elide! Cal!"_

 _Father and daughter swung around, the waves splashing around them as they watched Marion walk down the beach._

 _"Mama!"_

 _Elide flew from her father's arms and raced across the sand into her mother's waiting arms. The girl's wet dress seeped into her mother's clothes, but Marion didn't seem to mind as she held her daughter close, pressing kisses to the top of her head._

 _Marion straightened up, propping her daughter against her side. Elide wrapped her legs around her mother's waist and both women watched as Cal made his way toward them. When he reached them, he wrapped his arms around them both, pressing a kiss to his daughter's head and then one to his wife's temple. And as Elide fiddled with her mother's bracelet, the family watched the_ sun rise _on the horizon, the splash of orange, yellow, and red burning like a fire across the sky._

Elide sat on the beach her toes buried beneath the sand as she looked out into the ocean. The sun had set long ago, the once warm air now cool as it rustled her dress. Lorcan sat silently beside her, his presence a reassurance in the dark of the night.

As the tide grew closer, Elide rose to her feet and stepped forward, letting the cold water wrap around her legs. As she walked deeper into the water she felt an invisible force wrap itself around her ankle. And not a few seconds later, Lorcan stepped up beside her, his hand brushing against her own.

Elide closed her eyes, her head tilting back as she lifted her face toward the night sky, "I remember coming out here so many nights with my father. We would lie on the sand, and would count the stars. He would point out all the constellations. And tell me the stories of the gods. Anneith was my favorite."

Lorcan's fingers laced with her own, and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, which she reciprocated with a smile.

"Night after night, I would sneak out of bed and talk to the stars, wishing that they could talk back. Wishing that they could be my friends."

A breeze blew toward them as the cold water splashed around their legs and Elide shivered slightly. Lorcan gently tugged at his mate's hand as he steered her back up the beach. Lost in her memories, Elide didn't realize that Lorcan had stopped walking, until her hand in his jerked her back toward him. She looked up at him curiously as he pulled her toward him, and then down onto the sand. He settled down, pulling her to rest her back against his front, his arms wrapping around her, his warmth engulfing her.

"Show me."

With a smile, Elide began to point and Lorcan followed her gaze as she told him the stories of the gods.

* * *

Lorcan woke as a breeze of warm air blew over his face. When he reached out his arm to where Elide should have been, his hand hit sand. Sitting up, the sun burned his eyes as he squinted around the beach trying to catch sight of Elide.

He ran a hand over his face, holding back a yawn. For the past few weeks, Elide had been coming to the beach every night. She had whispered one night that it felt like something was calling out to her. Most nights they went back to bed, but sometimes they stayed out all night. Lorcan didn't mind. There was something about the silence of the beach that called to both of them.

The sun had already risen high in the sky, the early morning long gone. Lorcan glanced toward the ocean, finding Elide waist deep in the water, a pile of shells in her hand. The sun shone off her midnight hair, her skin a richer color than when he'd first met her. After being locked away for so much of her life, Elide had fallen in love with the feeling of the sun kissing her skin.

Without realizing, Lorcan had moved toward Elide. When he finally reached her, she spun around, her face lighting up when she caught sight of him. She quickly raced through the water and grabbed his arm, dropping the shells into his hand, her eyes bright with excitement.

"I can't believe I forgot!"

Lorcan cocked his head as she continued, "Black gemstones! They're found in the ocean. Very rare. My mother had one, it was a gift from my father. He found it during one of his trips and made it into a bracelet for her. She wore it every single day. She showed it off to everybody."

Elide smiled wide, "She said it was a representation of their love. I loved it. I wanted one so bad, for weeks I would dive deep trying to find one. But I always came up empty handed. My mother promised that one day she would pass it down to me, but..."

Lorcan watched as her eyes grew dark and her mouth pulled into a painful smile. But just as he opened his mouth, she shook her head and offered him a happier yet still sad smile.

She shrugged as she shuffled some sand with her foot, "Never mind. It was silly. I was never able to find one before. I don't think I ever will."

And much similar to the night prior, Lorcan tangled his fingers through Elide's and they walked back toward the house, their hands swinging slightly between them.

But just before they stepped off the beach, Lorcan cast one last glance over his shoulder at the endless ocean.

* * *

Elide eyes counted the lines on the ceiling for the fifteen time. She had been lying in bed for the past three hours, unable to sleep. Lorcan was still out. After they had returned from the beach that morning, he had seemingly vanished without a trace.

And she couldn't find herself to sleep without him. After sleeping next to him for long, it felt strange not to have a body to curl up with.

Elide sighed and had just closed her eyes again when the door to the bedroom slammed open.

Elide shot up and then quickly stumbled out of bed, her eyes focused on the drenched form of Lorcan standing in the doorway. Her eyes were wide as she raced over to him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him fully into the room. Water dripped off of him, leaving puddles scattered on the ground. His clothes stuck to him like a second skin, his hair plastered to his face.

Elide pushed him down onto the bench at the end of their bed and brushed his hair back from his face, looking into his pitch-black eyes.

"What happened? Why are you all wet? Did you fall off the pier or something?"

However, unlike the usual storminess of his black eyes when he was annoyed or upset, his eyes were instead bright. Elide's thumb brushed across his cheek as her gaze studied him carefully. But then a shiver rocked his body and Elide quickly stopped scanning his face and turned grabbing every towel and blanket she could find, wrapping his body until he resembled a pile of laundry.

After he was completely covered, Elide took his face into her hands and his eyes met hers.

 _"Lorcan?_ Are you alright?"

He smiled slightly and silently held out his hand. Elide looked down in confusion before reaching out her own. He dropped something into it and as she looked down, her heart clenched.

An iridescent black gemstone tied to a black band. So perfectly and strikingly similar to her mothers.

Clearing his throat, Elide's eyes shot up to his, "It took a few times, but I dove down until I found one."

Elide stared her mate wide-eyed, "Lorcan, you hate swimming."

"I know."

She was stunned, "Why did you do this?"

Lorcan's brows furrowed, "Because I wanted to make you happy."

 _As if there was no other possible answer._

Lorcan motioned for the bracelet and Elide handed it to him, watching as he gently wrapped it around her wrist, before placing a kiss on her wrist and glancing back up at her.

After a beat of silence, Elide leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to his before pulling back.

Lorcan's eyes darkened and he pushed through the pile of towels, grabbing Elide by the waist and flipping her so that she was lying under him. Her face was bright with amusement and he leaned down nipping at her jaw before littering kisses up her neck. He kissed her cheeks. Her forehead. Her nose. Always skipping but _just_ touching her mouth each time.

When he finally brushed a kiss against her lips, it was light. She let out a little growl and he stifled a laugh as he brushed another kiss across her lips. This time, her hand rose weaving into his hair. She pulled him close and deepened the kiss, the black stone on her bracelet shining under the light of the moon.

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Fluff fluff fluff fluff... fluff fluff fluff fluff...FLUFF also this is early on in their relationship so just because they are mates doesn't mean they have already said I love you and etc which is why Elide was so surprised about the bracelet...I mean in my mind they do love each other in this but they're still learning how to be in a non-abusive relationship and such soooo yep. Next chapter will either be puppy time or Elorcan at Aelin's coronation or something else possibly...whatever I get inspiration for I have at least 10 ideas for future chapters haha love you all!


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